Will Kobe Bryant Fund Your Start-Up?

Retired pro basketball player Kobe Bryant today announced plans to launch a $100 million investment fund.

In partnership with entrepreneur Jeff Stibel (above, left), the LA-based Bryant Stibel will bankroll media, technology, and data companies. Together, the two have backed 15 companies since 2013, according to The Wall Street Journal, but didn't finalize their fund until Bryant left the NBA earlier this year.

Current investments include sports website The Players Tribune, mobile game company Scopely, wearable tech development software FocusMotion, social ad platform SHIFT, app maker Toast Labs, and pre-IPO Alibaba Group Holding, among others.

"This is one of my passions," Bryant told CNBC today, after ringing the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange. "We are one gear, 100 percent laser-focused, and here we go," he said, as reported by ESPN.